Retail Store Rekey After Staff Change — Alberton North

The Situation

A small retail business in Alberton North contacted us after a long-term staff member left the company. The departing employee had a key to the front entrance and the storeroom. The key had not been returned at the time of departure, despite multiple requests. The business owner was uncomfortable with this situation and wanted the locks changed before the end of the week.

What We Found

The premises had four key locks in total: the main front door deadbolt, a second entrance from the parking area, the storeroom, and an internal office. All four were standard commercial-grade deadbolts of a common brand, all in good working condition. There was no master key system in place — each lock had its own key, and the owner held a set as well as the one that had not been returned.

Because the locks were in good condition, rekeying was clearly the right approach. Lock replacement would have cost more and offered no security advantage in this situation.

What We Did

1. We rekeyed all four locks to a common keyway so that a single new key opens all of them. This simplified key management for the owner compared to the previous arrangement where each lock had a separate key.
2. We cut five sets of new keys (one per remaining staff member, one for the owner, and a spare kept securely on the premises).
3. We tested all keys in all locks before leaving.
4. We advised the owner to keep a log of who holds each key going forward — a simple register with name, date of issue, and signature is sufficient for a business of this size.

The job took approximately 2.5 hours from arrival to completion.

Outcome

The business owner confirmed that the previous employee’s key no longer worked (we tested this with the key before finishing), and all new keys operated smoothly. The owner appreciated having all four locks on a single key, which had not been the case before.

The total cost was lower than the owner had expected, as rekeying four locks in a single visit is significantly cheaper than replacing them.

Lesson

Rekeying after staff changes is a straightforward, cost-effective step that many businesses delay longer than they should. If a key is not returned within a few days of a staff member’s departure, the practical response is to rekey rather than continue requesting the key.